Without an Ed
by OukamiYasha
Summary: Double D disappears from the Cul-De-Sac...and upon his return just isn't the same. DD/Eddy slash, child rape, and pretty much just awful situations.
1. Chapter 1

**So I've been wanting to write this for a while and have been on a MAJOR Ed Edd n Eddy kick lately...so here it is. Read if you don't mind child rape, yaoi and me destroying anything that was ever good about your childhood.**

**Also, to those of you who read _Homunculus_, I'm sorry!! I'm working on it!! Don't give up hope, my children, for I am here for you and I shall hold you to my bosom.**

* * *

It had been a split-second abduction. There had been no planning, no preparation, no foresight; just the raw instinct that told him he had a damn sweet deal in front of him and he'd be a fool not to take it.

The day had been cold and windy with the approach of winter. The dead leaves skittered against the pavement of the school parking lot like burnished roaches. And he had been lounging in his idling car nearby as the bell rang for school to get out. The doors opened and the brick building practically exploded with kids trying to make their way home, clawing over each other, yelling, screaming.

"God bless `em," he had muttered fondly, flicking his cigarette to the asphalt via his rolled-down car door window. He had always felt a connection with kids. That, of course, is why he had the job he did.

And, as habit goes, he was scanning each one of them, thinking maybe they might be worth something. So far, not so much luck.

There were a couple of older-looking kids...

One foreign, but definitely not in an exotic way. Another following close behind, cocking his baseball cap to the side with a grin. A girl trailing behind them...pretty, but he recalled the boss saying they had enough broads. A dark-skinned bald kid clutching a piece of wood (he laughed to himself at the innuendo)...Followed by a cream puff-looking kid with bad teeth, and another girl, this one much less pretty, with her flaming red hair and wide mouth.

The talent wasn't too impressive round these parts.

Last but not least, a trio of boys. They looked like they had been shoved to the side in the mad rush for the door, judging by their scuffed-up clothes and angry, hurt, and otherwise confused expressions. There was a big one...goofy looking even for a kid approaching puberty. Leading the trio was a short stubby boy, too rough and rotund to be a potential target.

But, hello.

The last kid was following them in their run, panting to keep up with them. Well, boy howdy. That one was a keeper.

Obviously out of shape, which was good in terms of the imminent struggle. Out of shape, yes, but not as chubby as his other counterparts. A rounded face that indicated he still had quite a while before he looked like anything but a little boy, large eyes, and whisps of hair that bounced out from under his black beanie. Except for his face, he was slender in every aspect, if the thin shirt that sagged off his even thinner frame was any indication. His long, stick-like legs worked to catch up with his friends.

He nodded to himself, lit another cigarette, and watched.

Too good to pass up.

* * *

"Wait up, fellows!" Double D panted, waving an arm in protest as the other arm clutched at a multitude of books. His checkered tie flew behind him, and he hoped beyond all hope his hat wouldn't come off. Not that he was running THAT fast, mind you.

"Suck it, Sockhead!" Eddy shouted back at him, not slackening his pace. Ed's usual grin was set into a stern, if unknowing, expression.

"Double D can suck a sock for the sock is that which is on his head!" he bellowed in an attempt at an insult. Between his lack of intellect and kind heart, Ed never really could master the art.

"Eddy! I've apologized numerous times, need I do it again?!"

"Sure, but we ain't gonna be here to listen to your big mouth!" Eddy snatched Ed's collar and made an abrupt turn into the woods, a shortcut to the Cul-De-Sac. Double D lagged behind them and slowly brought himself to a halt, panting and wiping stinging sweat out of his eyes so he could stare at the spot where they had disappeared.

He admitted that he understood their anger...after all, the lunchtime scam that Eddy had devised would have gone off flawlessly if not for Double D's shortisghtedness. That was a first!!! He could still barely believe it. But, that was what had happened...his mind had been elsewhere and it had cost him...no, all of them, the scam. Not that THAT was what bothered him.

He hefted up his books to get a better grip on him, raised a foot to take a step, and was whipped off the ground by his wrist and never showed up at home.

* * *

Eddy stood in the Cul-De-Sac beside Ed, tapping an impatient foot and staring up at the darkening sky. All around, the kids dropped their bikes, skates, jump-ropes, and made their way to their houses. It was just that time of the evening, that time when the festivities had to end and preparations must be made for the next day.

"Hey Lumpy," Eddy hooked an arm around Ed's long neck and pulled him close, his eyes narrowed, "I ain't seen Sockhead since school got out. Where d'you think he went? He was s'posed to help us build a half pipe!"

"Yell we did at him, Eddy, and like a hurt puppy he probably crawled under his bed," Ed answered with a grin, one eye blinking after the other.

Eddy let go of Ed and stared toward Double D's dark house. What kind of sense did that make? Sure, he was angry at Double D, had yelled at him...but it was just an unspoken deal that the slender boy would catch up with them eventually and a grudging truce would emerge, and eventually be forgotten altogether as they worked on their next big scam. That's just the way it was. It's the way it always had been. So Double D's absence confused him...no, he wasn't worried yet.

Worrying was for chumps.

But he did make his way to Double D's house, with Ed following close by, and he peered into the window as if his sudden voyeurism would make the lights of the house switch on and Double D run to the door. It remained dark and motionless, even as he pounded on the door and rang the doorbell.

* * *

**Yeah, that's it for now. I'm kind of half-assing this fic just because I wanted to see it written and don't want to spend a long time on it, and also I'm in the middle of finals and should really be working on that. But more to follow, I guess. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Big thank-yous to Loki el Diablo, machi-tan, GhostHelwig and EB for reviewing! Because of your kind words, I was spurred on to write another chapter even though I really SHOULD be working on my finals...you guys are so bad.**

**And a big props to GhostHelwig, whose stories I have read many a time before and always immensely enjoy (especially the EenE ones!)**

**Onward!!**

* * *

Three months and still no sign of Double D.

The Cul-De-Sac had initially exploded into a nervous uproar over his disappearance. The kids, the teachers, the parents, they had all phoned the police with anxious voices and hopes that the boy would be spotted soon...but all the police could find were Double D's schoolbooks, abandoned on the ground with their pages fluttering helplessly in the breeze.

To make matters worse, for that tense first week, no one could seem to get a hold of Double D's parents.

The enigmatic couple was rarely, if ever at all, in Peach Creek, and it took news of their only child's disappearance for them to come back, and once they did, the news spread like a bad rash. The kids of the Cul-De-Sac had all gathered around on the pavement that night, staring at the lights shining out of Double D's house, at the shadows of his parents moving to and fro, sometimes pausing, sometimes dipping out of view. And the kids wondered and stared and hoped and dreamed, because that's all they could do.

One by the one the crowd thinned out, until only Ed and Eddy remained. Soon Ed too was dragged back home by his parents, leaving Eddy, cold and confused, to gaze at the house and not know why.

The next night, Double D's parents were gone again. No explanation, no more lights filtering out from the windows of their house, just a ton of theories and a ton of darkness.

Eddy had been furious. What kind of parents just up and left the neighborhood when their son had gone missing? It was an outrage, one that he could not do anything about except for stomp about the Cul-De-Sac and yell at anyone who had the nerve to address him. His mood lasted for quite a while, during which he absolutely refused to attend school. Ed, whether from Eddy's example or his own heart-wrenching worry, followed suit.

But eventually, life had to go back to normal. Human beings are great adapters, which the children of Peach Creek so painfully learned. They played in the streets, albeit a bit closer to home than usual. They hung out near the candy store, eying the treasures that lay inside. Ed and Eddy gave in to their parents and began attending school again, and even tried to pull off new scams, something that should have been nigh impossible without Double D. The other kids plunked down quarter after quarter in Eddy's money jar, out of pity more than a scam well done, and it didn't even offer Eddy any solace. Sure, he spent it on jawbreakers. Sure, he and Ed sat outside on the curb sucking on and slavering over the candy. But they sat with far-off gazes and an empty spot in between them. And when nighttime fell, Eddy would crawled into bed and snuggle underneath the satin covers, staring at the full money jar on the table beside him and knew he would give it all up just to have his friend back.

And then, out of nowhere, he got his wish.

The event had been foreshadowed by the storm that had struck that morning; all through school freezing rain had come pounding down on the tin roofs, and the teachers had to raise their voices above the din. Upon the final bell and their release, the kids huddled beneath umbrellas, cold and wet and trudging through puddles toward their houses.

Ever since the incident, they all traveled home together. Not a single one strayed. Even Ed, in all his removal from the outside world, managed to stick close to the mob, staying close to Eddy as if afraid he too would disappear, with only his books left as evidence he ever existed.

They were approaching the Cul-De-Sac when they saw him, a lone figure emerging from the gray horizon. More specifically, Ed spotted him first, his usually vacant eyes narrowed in an attempt to discern what kind of creature from the bowels of Evil Tim's toaster might be heading toward him. Upon his pause, the other kids stopped as well, turning to look in the direction of his stare.

Double D headed toward them at full tilt. He seemed to be yelling or crying, though his voice was thin and useless over the sound of the pounding rain. His long arms were mottled with bruises and swinging in effort. He wore only his trademark black cap and a filthy nightshirt just long enough to cover his nakedness. Beneath that, his thin legs, scraped raw red and running with rivulets of dirt, seemed like they would break under his exertion.

The children stood, transfixed, at the new arrival until Double D, like a moth to a flame, ran straight into Ed, clutching at his army jacket with trembling white hands and alternating between ragged pants and soundless cries. Ed looked about in utter confusion, but knew enough to wrap his big arms securely around his friend. Eddy, for once, was at a loss for words.

There was silence for several long moments before panic and chaos erupted. Nazz shrieked and clutched Kevin's arm, Kevin yelled vulgarities borne from shock and fear, Jimmy fainted straightaway, landing wet in a puddle of dirty water, Rolf found the old world sense to scream for help...

They disbanded and ran, scattering in all different directions to find any help they could. They left behind Jimmy, still sprawled unconscious in the mud, and the Eds, huddled together underneath the dreary sky.

Ed gently peeled Double D away from him, holding him gingerly by the shoulders and looking down at him as if to assess his situation and heal him in some way. Eddy stared, afraid to get any closer, and at last found his voice.

"Double D...where's your pants?"

Probably not the most tactful thing to say, he guessed, but it was the only thing he could think of at the moment.

Double D turned his face toward Eddy and immediately he saw that it was thinner and paler than usual, with a great bruise over his left eye and cheek and his lips so chapped they were cracked and peeling. He stared miserably at Eddy through his good eye, shivering in the rain.

"Eddy," he croaked, his voice barely there. He then slumped limply against Ed, hands hanging useless by his side.

"Sockhead!" Eddy wrung his hangs together, darting around Ed to get a better look, "Lumpy! Did he faint? Ed, did he faint?"

He leaned in to look at Double D, but the bruised boy hadn't fainted. Rather, he just laid weakly against Ed's chest, his eyes half-open.

"Sockhead?" Eddy pried, edging closer to him. Behind him he heard the sounds of opening doors, frantic parents on phones, far-away sirens..."Double-D? What's wrong? Edd, come on, buddy! Talk to me!"

Double D didn't talk, but simply shifted his gaze toward Eddy and stared beyond him at something no one could see.

* * *

**God, this is depressing me. I love it. Once again, very much half-assed because I have lots of work to do. I have another Eene fic I want to do involving Eddy's brother, but that'll have to wait until finals are over.**

**More chapters to come! Thanks again!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I lived through finals! Now I will have a week of relaxing, writing, and playing Left 4 Dead before I make my way toward Tokyo, where I hope to waste vast amounts of money that I don't have on random Asian junk.**

**Thank you everyone for your reviews, they really cheered me up while I was freaking out about my schoolwork. All your comments made me smile!**

**And ShadowsCorpse525...if you're a dirty pervert for liking this fic, then I must be SATAN for writing it!! My soul has been so defiled...It only gets worse from here, kiddies.**

* * *

"But MA!" Eddy screamed over the phone, "I just wanna--"

But no, she says, this isn't for you to deal with, she says, this is a grown-up matter, she says.

Eddy eventually slammed the receiver back down on its pedestal with a KA-LING and threw himself on his bed, clawing at the bedsheets and shrieking into the covers with ill-disguised rage. Who did they think he was? He could deal with whatever they could throw his way, and then some! At least, he was pretty sure. He had never actually _had_ to deal with whatever they could throw his way, much less then some.

Word around the Cul-De-Sac was all the parents had been able to visit Double D in the hospital. Unfortunately, none of the children were allowed to see him, leaving them to stew in their own confusion and worry.

Eddy flipped over on his bed, squinting at the bright lamplight above him. He couldn't understand why his parents had forbidden him to visit Double D in the hospital...this was his friend they were talking about! His friend, lying there in the white room with all sorts of tubes and needles and breathing apparatus hooked up to him...at least that's the way Eddy pictured it. Because GOD FORBID he actually go and see.

It had been a good two and a half weeks since Double D had shown back up, and it seemed like only two and a half seconds that Eddy got to see him before the injured boy was strapped into a gurney and carted away in a screaming ambulance. What he remembered most about that day were the colors...how vividly those red and blue lights shone through the gray and the rain. How white Ed's usually yellow-tinged skin was, bloodless with worry and the dim understanding that something beyond awful had happened. The small brownish-red stains on Ed's shirt and jacket, where Double D had pressed against him for warmth and support and so many other things that he must have needed but they could not provide.

Worse than not having Double D home was the absolute confusion his return had caused the kids. What had happened to him in the three months he had been away? Where had he been? What had he been doing? They were children, and innocent, and in that innocence could not fathom the horrors of what had happened. But they knew it had been something drastic, to leave the boy so wounded and empty. And their parents refused to tell them what had happened, except that "he was hurt very badly".

Well, duh.

He slid off the bed and marched into the foyer. He looked back and forth, his face scrunched up in the effort of deciding how to spend the rest of his day. Solemnly, he trudged to the window that looked out into the Cul-De-Sac, and planted his face firmly against the cold glass.

His plan was to wait until his parents got home. Then the moment they opened the door, he'd assault them with questions about Double D. Guerrilla warfare, baby!! They'd be so caught off-guard that they'd have no choice but to tell him what happened!

He didn't have to wait long before the window rattled and he jumped, terrified to see another face pressing against the panes from the outside. It was Ed, the idiot, grinning and bouncing from one foot to another. His mouth moved in excitement.

"I can't hear you, Lumpy!" Eddy grumbled and wrenched open the front door, poking his head outside, "What is it?"

"Eddy, Double D is back!"

"What?" he hopped outside, his head whipping back and forth, "Where? I don't see him!"

"At home, Eddy! Angus my lucky fish told me," Ed proceeded to pull the rancid fish corpse from underneath his shirt.

"...I thought you got rid of that, Ed. But is Double D really back from the hospital? For real?"

"As real as the carbuncles on Dad's toes, Eddy!"

"Well c'mon, Monobrow!" Eddy slammed the door to his house shut and grabbed Ed by the collar, dragging him toward Double D's house.

* * *

His room was dark, and oppressive in its darkness, but he would have it no other way. He had found upon his escape that lights now hurt his eyes, and the two or so weeks in the hospital had been almost unbearable with the bright whites piercing every nerve in his corneas.

He burrowed deeper into the covers, holding them tight against his body for protection. Protection against what, he didn't know.

The bangs coming from the door downstairs didn't faze him. There were knocks, and yells, and loud voices and screaming and talking and shuffling...

_And he was in total blackness. He didn't know if he had been knocked out or blindfolded, or both, but he felt a throbbing pain in his head and couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not. He dimly registered voices above him, and tried to use some of that Honor Student concentration to focus._

_"Jesus, _this_ is the kid you couldn't pass up?"_

_"Yeah, so? What's wrong with `im? I thought he was cute."_

_"We got enough kids right now! It's hard enough keepin' this operation under wraps without another one...jesus. Fine, let's take a look..."_

_He tasted a finger, thick and dry, probing his mouth._

_"Tch, those teeth is in bad shape."_

_"They ain't in bad shape, it's just a little gap! Some people like that kinda thing. Other than that, they're fine."_

_"Don't get all defensive on me, we're keeping him, ain't we?"_

_Clammy hands roamed all over him, in places that would have made him blush had he been fully conscious._

_"Nice body, nice skin...cute enough face, I guess. He's a virgin, right?"_

_"Shit if I know."_

_The smell of cigarette smoke._

_"Must be. Anyway, his first customer will have to pay extra. The hat's charmin', but it'll have to go."_

_"What the hell?!"_

_"Oh Jesus fuck! Looks like someone did a number on this kid already. All right, we'll let `im keep the hat on. For all our sakes. That's gonna affect his value, for sure."_

_"But I did good, right?"_

_"Quit fishing for compliments, I ain't here to babysit you. Unless you wanna yank off your trousers and put yer ass in the air for customers too."_

_"I'll pass."_

_"Figured you would."_

And he slipped back into darkness, and back into his room, with the warm covers and the familiar things that brought him no comfort. The knocks downstairs grew louder, and he was sure he could hear a voice screaming his name.

* * *

Downstairs, Eddy had had enough.

"That's it. Big Ed, break down that door!"

"For truth and honor!" Ed snorted and backed up ten paces before running at the innocent door with all his might, the impact resulting in a shattering crack of the door unwillingly separating from its jambs. Ed lay in a heap among splintered wood in the living room. Eddy grinned and stepped over him.

"Good work, Ed. Quit being lazy, get up."

They made their way up the stairs, and Eddy couldn't help but note the disgusting absence, once again, of Double D's parents. Ed laughed like the doof he was and practically leapt over Eddy and lunged toward Double D's bedroom door, snatching at the knob. He stood, confused and tugging at the handle, when he found it wouldn't turn.

"It is locked, Eddy," he pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah," Eddy responded and took out a straightpin which he kept in his pocket for just such an occasion. He jammed it unceremoniously into the small hole in the center of the doorknob, and was rewarded with that ever-satisfying 'click'.

He threw the door open.

"Double D!" he peered into the dark room and saw the unmistakable form of his friend huddled on the bed, "hey Sockhead. Why didn't you answer the door when me and Ed were knocking? Ed busted it down. I told him not to, but the big lug just can't help himself. It's that damn rev...what is it? Reversed psychowhosits?"

Double D just sat on the bed, wrapped in his protective cover of blankets, and stared at them. Eddy rubbed the back of his neck, feeling as if he had intruded on something private.

"So how ya been, Sockhead? We wanted to visit you in the hospital, but you know...them adults, they kept giving us shit about how we were too young to see you or something...stupid...um...you look better...I mean, your bruises are almost gone and stuff, right? You...uh...why're you here in the dark, anyway? Your lights broken or something?"

Eddy was painfully aware that he was waffling, and it wasn't made any better by Ed nervously wringing his hands behind him, or Double D's uncharacteristically blank stare. Even worse was the boy's silence. This was the same kid who could rattle off about Isaac Fig Newton for twenty hours if someone didn't shut him the hell up. But now, it seemed all he could offer was that dull, almost perplexed gaze.

"We missed you," Eddy offered in a small voice, staring down at the carpet and nudging it with the toe of his sneaker.

"Oh Double D!" Ed exclaimed, "we were so worried!"

He rushed toward the boy and scooped him up in a tight hug. Double D remained immobile for a moment, then hesitantly patted Ed on the back. Even Eddy could see Double D was highly uncomfortable with this physical contact, so he yanked on Ed's jacket and scowled.

"Get offa him, Lumpy. He's delicate an' all, remember?"

Ed sniffled and gently set Double D back on the bed. The three boys stared at each other for a long moment, as if unfamiliar with each other. Eddy didn't like it. He felt like he was meeting Double D for the first time. This was not a cherished childhood friend that sat staring on the bed in front of them, this was a stranger, with his dark eyes and sallow skin and the hospital bracelet slipping off of his spindly wrist.

"Right...well...uh...me an' Ed gotta go. I told Ed I'd uh...clean the gravy out of his tub."

"But Eddy, I like my gravy."

"Shut up, Monobrow. So uh...we'll see you later, Double D? We'll call you or...or something."

He performed an awkward half wave, half salute and dragged Ed away yet again, down the stairs, over the ruined door, through the snowy driveway...

"Eddy, why did we leave? We didn't even get to hang out with Double D."

"Somethin' tells me Double D don't want to hang out, Ed."

And he wondered, among other things, if he ever would.

* * *

**Long chapter is long! For me, at least. I have to say, the part of this chapter I liked the best was where Eddy tells Double D they missed him. AWWWWRR.**

**I hope to produce at least a couple more chapters before I leave for Tokyo. As always, reviews and comments are much appreciated! Thank you for reading, I apologize for being sick in the head.**


	4. Chapter 4

**One more chapter before I leave for Japan!! This one is pretty short, but I wanted to give you something before I left. Enjoy!**

* * *

He hadn't _meant_ to drive his friends away...but ultimately, that's what had happened. They had come to visit him when he should have needed them the most, and they had offered him their warmth and smiles and innocence. He felt he had nothing to give back.

He had wanted to grin and tell them how much he had thought of them when he was gone. And how he found Eddy's tinny "We missed you" downright endearing. But something in his brain just hadn't clicked in time, and Ed and Eddy were gone before it could.

He slid off the bed, the covers clutched around his shoulders, and padded over to his ant farm. 4,356 ants. That's what the label said, at least. There were 4,356 ants inside. All dead.

The tears welled up in his eyes. In his absence, had no one checked on his ants? Had no one made sure they had food and water? They lay on their backs in the tunnels, and at the very bottom of the container, a heap of dead were clustered closely to the queen ant's carcass. He brushed tears back as he stared at them. At least they hadn't died lonely.

4,356 ants. The label no longer fit. He reached forward, pried the edge of the label up with his fingernail and tore it off. It left a milky, rectangular film behind.

He turned to gaze at the rest of his room. All those labels. Why had he done that, anyway? Now it seemed stupid to him. Life wasn't so simple that you could slap a label on it and feel comfortable. Things changed, things were different, and nothing was as it seemed.

The comforter fell from his body as he leaned forward and tore the "DESK" label off this drafting table. It ripped clean off. He grabbed the "SKULL" and ripped the label off of that one too. Same with "FORCEPS", "NOTEBOOK", "LAMP", "DRESSER", "POSTER", "WINDOW"...

He moved methodically through the room, ripping off each label he could find. Some were stubborn and wanted to stick, and their sharp corners jabbed the delicate flesh underneath his fingernails, but it had to be done. He tore the labels off, balled them all up and threw them into the "TRASH CAN". That label was the last to go.

But it hadn't helped. His room felt even emptier than before.

He slipped down to the ground, rested his head in his hands and cried. He was lost and afraid and cold...

_A voice kept sounding above him, disgruntled and dangerous._

_"Get up, kid, don't just sit there. Up. What's your name?"_

_"E-Eddward. Where am I?"_

_"That don't matter right now, just come with me. We need you to do something, then you'll get to go back home."_

_"I will?"_

_"Yep, you sure will."_

_The place was dark and the man was tall and walking in front of him, leading him along with a steady grip on his sore wrist. His mind raced. What on earth could they want him for? He reasoned that they could want him to make something for them, as he was so often making things for Eddy, but that seemed like a bit of a long shot. He never exactly advertised his contraptions._

_The man led him to a brightly-lit room. There were two large floodlights centered on a simple red blanket that lay on the ground..a few other men milled around, adjusting cameras and video recorders on tripods._

_Cameras? Video recorders? What in the world did they want him to do with those things?_

_The man let go of his wrist and shoved him roughly onto the blanket._

_"All right, now all's we want you to do is take off your clothes."_

_"Wh-what?!" Double D peered out into the room, practically blinded by the white lights and numbed by the words the man had just spoken, "My clothes? Wh-why my cl--"_

_"Kid," another, larger man spoke, inching in close to him. Double D saw with a jolt that the man held a pistol, and didn't seem too shy about taking the safety off, "just take `em off and do what we say. Or else. Got it?"_

_He inched back upon Double D's petrified nod. He could barely feel his limbs, they were as good as wet noodles, and trembled violently as he pulled off his shirt. He heard a click and shuddered, thinking it was the gun, but realized it was the video camera being turning on...his shaking hands moved to unbutton his shorts and there were more clicks and flashes of light...cameras, he noted somewhere deep within his panic-stricken mind._

_His heart was beating a million miles a minute, his skin was slippery with sweat, tears welled up in his eyes and made it impossible to see anything but the blurry lights in front of him. His shorts were off, and he heard their muted laughter as he made his way to his underwear..._

_Why were they doing this? He didn't understand, he just didn't. He began crying shamelessly, his whole body trembling, and could find no strength left in his hands to grab onto his briefs, much less pull them off._

_"Oh, Jesus Christ," one of the men came forward and completed the job for him, and wasn't shy about making a grab at Double D's privates afterward._

_"Leave that for the customers, huh?"_

_"Oh, shut up. Kid, lean back. I said lean back! You want the camera to get the good parts, don't you?"_

_A rough hand shoved him into position...he was to sit on his knees, legs spread wide apart, spine bent back and arms supporting his upper body._

_"Look toward the camera. That's right. We don't care if you're crying, look here..."_

_And he did. He hated himself for it, but he did it. He twisted his body into every shameful position imaginable, because they told him to and because he was terrified and confused. They took picture after picture, and recorded him crying and shaking and begging to be set free._

_After what seemed like an eternity, they let him put only his underwear back on and led him out of that awful room. That room, he would come to learn, was specially reserved for making videos and pictures...he would come to spend many an hour in that room, stripped naked yet again, but seldom alone on the red blanket._

_They didn't take him home, but to a different room, this one was small, confined...the walls seemed fifteen inches thick...they shoved him through the door, closed it, bolted it, and they left. He was alone in the cold and the darkness. When his eyes adjusted to the meager light, he could make out a rudimentary bathroom area and a dirty mattress that lay on the ground, complete with tattered covers._

_He went against his nature and sat on that filthy mattress, staring at the blank wall and realizing finally why he had been brought here._

But he wasn't in that room anymore, he was in _his _room. His newly un-labeled room, with the solar system model hanging in the corner over his bed and the poster that illustrated various points of the human brain.

He was home.

So why did it feel like he was still locked up?

* * *

**How sad. Wow. I write sad stuff. =/ **

**Anyway, please review so I'll have something to look forward to when I get back!! Thank you all for reading, I appreciate it!! **


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